Tag: agents of shield

Happy Saturday everybody, all of the shows returned this week which was amazing. There was DC crossover week; Agents of SHIELD finally resolved that cliff-hanger; and Pitch aired their penultimate episode. Obviously the biggest question is which was the best but before we get there let’s talk honourable mentions.

Honourable Mentions

Agents of Shield – for some sweet Doctor Strange tie-ins.

Modern Family – for proving that watching Ty Burrell get electrocuted never stops being funny.

Pitch – for finally releasing an episode that didn’t stress me out or leave me an emotional wreck.

Black-ish – for elegantly dealing with some complex themes of identity.

Empire – for setting the standard for awkward family dinners.

Gotham – for the best episode since its first season.

Jane The Virgin – for catering to that burgeoning lapsed Catholic market.

Once Upon A Time – for confirming that nobody will ever carry a baby full term in this show.

Show of the Week: DC Crossover

This week saw the first time in history that the DC shows on The CW – Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow – crossed over and it was perfect. Normally, this section is reserved for a single show but it is impossible to choose between the four episodes that aired this week because they all came together as one cohesive narrative. Separating them simply wouldn’t make sense.

When I heard that the main villain in the crossover was going to be aliens, I was less than enthused but I am happy to say that I was wrong to judge it so quickly. The aliens ended up being a very serious threat with believable motivations.

More than anything, I loved this television event because it felt like a massive pay-off for anybody that had been following these shows from the very beginning. Old characters were brought back; subtle nods were made to the wider DC universe; and they did an amazing job of analysing the relationship dynamics that form when you throw this group of people together.

The ending, with Oliver and Barry sat talking in a bar, felt like an wonderfully poetic way to wrap up the week. They were the two characters that began this wider universe and you were really able to appreciate that in how the wider team immediately deferred to them as leaders.

This Week’s Worst: No Tomorrow

There’s no doubt that No Tomorrow has improved from when it first began this season but it still isn’t doing enough. The show has established what it’s about and at times it can be a fun thing to watch but it has no real bite to it.

It’s being sold as an hour-long dramedy when its story seems better suited to the half-hour sitcom format. With such a high-level of competition on The CW at the moment, I don’t know if this first-season show will be renewed next year.

Did you have a favourite episode from the crossover? Have you been watching No Tomorrow? What did you watch this week? Let me know in the comments.

Flaky American television scheduling meant that there was no Black-ish, Empire, Modern Family, or Pitch this week but there was still plenty to watch. Obviously I am going to get to what the best thing that aired this week was but before that, let’s look at the honourable mentions.

Honourable Mentions

Gotham – for the most homoerotic episode in their history that still has me questioning whether it was intentional or not.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D – for really taking advantage of the later time slot and creating some epic fight sequences with Ghostrider.

Legends of Tomorrow – for trying with the CGI. It didn’t work but you tried.

Arrow – for bringing Diggle back: the show needs him.

How To Get Away With Murder – for a drunk Annalise and a Southern Michaela because who says murder can’t be funny?

Westworld – for making me appreciate the fact that I never experienced the Wild West.

Show Of The Week: Atlanta

Atlanta is a part of a new school of comedy that doesn’t try too hard to be funny. It deals with serious issues and can be intense at times but this was one of their lighter episodes.

As somebody who hates night clubs this episode spoke to me on a spiritual level and was full of plenty of laughs. I missed Donald Glover over the last few episodes and it was nice to have his character back in the mix but the way that this show floats around the different characters means that they have all been given the chance to develop and they can all hold their own story lines.

In this episode alone they dealt with prejudice, money, gender dynamics and violence. It was hilarious.

This Week’s Worst: No Tomorrow

As this is a brand new show, I have given it three weeks to pick up but unfortunately it hasn’t done that.

The CW is usually very good at new content: shows like Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have unusual subjects and very strange structures but they work really well. I thought that this might be another one of those instances but it is not.

The premise of the show is that one man has discovered that the end of the world is coming soon and he decides to live like there’s “no tomorrow”. A woman with a crush on him learns about his idea and joins him in it although she doesn’t believe that the world is ending. Together they go through their bucket lists and check off things that they want to do before the world ends.

It’s an interesting premise but the actual show has zero direction. It is literally just these (typically attractive) people doing random things and making out a lot. There are some subplots but they aren’t nearly compelling enough to make the show worthwhile.

I can’t imagine that there’s any season arc past the world not actually ending but maybe they’ll surprise us all and their world will end. Because the show gets cancelled…

What did you watch this week? Have you started any new shows? Are you a No Tomorrow fan? Let me know in the comments.

It’s the infinity question: Marvel or DC? Obviously the answer is normally Marvel but that’s just in print and on the big screen. It is now the golden age of television and the two comic giants have not slacked in getting their content out on TV. As of right now, there are more than ten Marvel/DC shows airing and even more in development. The question is: who’s better?

Marvel: Netflix

With the recent release of Luke Cage (full review here), the Marvel Netflix series are in the spotlight at the moment. This group contains: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and in five months, Iron Fist.

Of all the comic book shows, these are the most unique in terms of format. Thanks to Netflix, these 13 episode seasons are all released at once which has the awesome effect of being able to watch them in one sitting – almost like a 13 hour movie.

They are praised for their grittier, darker tone in comparison to the wider MCU but what I love most about these is the characters. TV allows character development on a much larger scale than film but even by that standard, it feels like these dive into the stories of everybody: heroes and villains alike. Also, Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple is my favourite thing.

My only gripe is something that Netflix proudly claims: this is “event television”. It only comes around twice a year and if you watch them immediately (like myself) you’re left with nothing for 6 months.

DC: The CW

The CW is home to the Arrowverse – The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl – but many people don’t know that the show, iZombie, is also based on a DC comic.

Network television is a far departure from Netflix which means that these shows aren’t allowed to be as violent or deal with heavy issues. The general tone of them is much lighter but they all have their own unique stamps which make them really good at being what they are.

My personal favourites are Supergirl and iZombie – Supergirl is unabashedly feminist and maintains this unbelievably bright, cheerful aesthetic. It could come off as cheesy but the character dynamics are fantastic and the actors (particularly Melissa Benoist) really sell the story.

Unfortunately, without the space to explore any more substantial themes, some of the plots can become needlessly convoluted and no amount of good acting can make you believe the stakes that are being presented to you.

Marvel: ABC

Whilst Agents of Shield is technically the only Marvel series currently on ABC, I live in constant denial that Agent Carter got cancelled so I’m just going to include it in this category.

When Agents of Shield began it seemed like it was just fan service: “don’t worry guys, Coulson’s okay!”, but it has evolved since then and I think that it’s finally finding its own feet in it’s third season. That is largely helped by the fact that they now have a later air time which means that they can get a bit more violent.

Agent Carter never had that issue: it is a show that has known exactly what it’s about since the beginning . These shows are a nice reminder that whilst we watch the superheroes, there are ordinary folks that do just as much, probably more.

DC: Fox & AMC

Finally DC have Gotham and Lucifer on Fox, and Preacher on AMC.

I’m not going to lie: I think that Gotham is the definition of trash-television but for some reason I continue to watch it.

Preacher is much more interesting. I fell in love with the concept but my interest dwindled as the first season played out. I think that these are the riskier, more experimental ideas and whilst they aren’t perfect, I love the fact that these networks are taking a chance on something different.

So, those are our shows. Which is better?

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Marvel! I mean, come on, I’ll be loyal until the day that I die but I genuinely believe that the quality of their shows is miles ahead of their DC counter-parts. DC might have more breadth but that isn’t always a good thing.

What do you think? Marvel or DC? I am completely biased? Let me know in the comments.

Season premieres and season finales all happened this week: there was so much good stuff (and also bad stuff but we’ll get to that later) that it is very difficult to choose just one show to crown ‘Best of The Week’ so before we get there, let’s go through the honourable mentions.

Honourable Mentions

Agents of Shield – for a season premiere which that took the show from aliens to Ghostrider – a wise move, but I kind of wish that their Ghostrider didn’t look like a badly constructed cartoon character.

Black-ish – for releasing the most entertaining 21 minute Disney World commercial that I have ever seen.

Modern Family – for still making me laugh in their 8th season.

Empire – for keeping me hooked on what is now essentially a high-budget soap opera.

Mr. Robot – for the most insane and beautifully filmed season finale that left me with more questions than answers.

Show of the Week: Pitch

This week saw the series premiere of the new Fox drama, Pitch, and this had a lot of hype around it so I was definitely wary going into it. When you get as much media attention as this show did, you’re either going to be a disappointment or a phenomenon. So, did it live up to expectations? The answer is a resounding yes.

Pitch tells the story of the first female Major League Baseball player, Ginny Baker, and it has some of the themes that you would expect from this kind of story: sexism, dedication, triumphing against odds. Essentially, it has a lot of heart but it goes deeper than that. This is truly a character story and Kylie Bunbury does a fantastic job of presenting these strong emotions very subtly.

The entire cast was Pitch-perfect and throughout the pilot, seeds were planted to expand on some interesting story-lines. I wouldn’t be surprised if this show won this spot a few more times this season.

If you haven’t seen it yet then you should definitely give it a watch, I’m sure you will cry less than I did.

The Week’s Worst: Gotham

For me, Gotham stopped being good somewhere near the beginning of the second season. Some would argue that it went downhill a lot earlier than that (like, in the early development stages) but that seems unfair.

Whilst I’m being fair, I will say that if I was to grade this week’s episode in comparison to the episodes that were released last season, then this was pretty good.

Sure, every time Jim Gordon speaks I involuntarily cringe at the bad dialogue and maybe the story didn’t make the most sense in terms of character motivation. However, the fact that all of these people choose to live in this city makes me wonder if the logic within the show works differently to the one that I’m familiar with. Yeah, let’s go with that.

What did you watch this week? What did you love and what did you hate? Let me know in the comments.

Merry Tuesday everybody, in a surprising turn of events I have some news for you that contains no trailers.

New The Jungle Book Images Released

Disney have released stunning new portraits of the cast of their upcoming film, The Jungle Book, with the animals that they play in the film. They are absolutely breath-taking and you don’t need to search through the internet for them because I have them for you right here.

Captain America: Civil War Will Effect Agents of Shield

If you were watching Agents of Shield when Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out then you’ll know that it had a huge impact on the plot and the story of the TV show. It has now been said that the same thing will happen with the release of Captain America: Civil War next month. Executive producer of the show, Jed Whedon has said:

“It will definitely have a ripple effect. It is one world, so if there is a giant event, it will definitely have a ripple effect on our world.”

Consequences To Allegiant’s Box Office Flop

Allegiant was by far, the worst film of its franchise (to see exactly how much worse, check out my review). Lionsgate lost money on the film and as a result the price of their shares have dropped in the market. Moving forward, Lionsgate have said that they will be cutting the budget of the final film in the series, Ascendant.

That’s it today but tell me what you think about everything.

Are you completely in love with the new images from The Jungle Book? What kind of ripple effects do you think are going to happen within the MCU? Should studios stop splitting their final installments into two movies? Let me know in the comments.

It’s Sunday – it’s Oscar Sunday and this week has been dominated by the lead up to the Academy Awards but I’ve still got some news for you so let’s just get to it:

Final Daredevil Trailer

The second part of the 2-part Daredevil Season 2 trailer has been released by Netflix and there is a lot of Elektra. I enjoyed Season 1 of Daredevil but I think it lacked something that made my interest peter out towards the end. The upcoming season promises to be packed full of action, we have: Elektra, The Punisher, The Hand and I believe Stick may be returning. Check out the trailer below.

Finn Jones Cast As Iron Fist

Game Of Thrones’ Finn Jones has officially been cast as Iron Fist in the Marvel-Netflix series of the same name. Iron Fist completes The Defenders: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage & Iron Fist. We first saw Luke Cage in Jessica Jones but his solo outing will be arriving on Netflix soon and Iron Fist will follow.

Marvel’s Most Wanted Gets Official Synopsis

The ABC Marvel show, Marvel’s Most Wanted, has received an official synopsis.It follows Bobbi and Hunter from Agent’s Of Shield after leaving the newly formed S.H.I.E.L.D. The synopsis is:

Centers on Bobbi Morse (aka Mockingbird) and Lance Hunter of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., two ex-spies and ex-spouses who are on the run with no friends, no S.H.I.E.L.D. and a long list of enemies looking to claim the bounty on their heads. Able to trust no one but each other, Bobbi and Hunter form an uneasy alliance with Dominic Fortune, a rogue adventurer with a wealth of resources and even more adversaries, who agrees to protect them so long as they help him with his own agenda. These two heroes will help anyone in need, all while trying to uncover the conspiracy that put their own lives in jeopardy.

Bobbi and Hunter are two of my favourite characters on Agents of Shield so I will be sad to see them go but the relationship between the characters is so strong and also fun that it could be good to see them strike out on their own.

That’s it for today – I know it was a short one but I will be back on Tuesday with more. As usual:

What part of the Daredevil trailer has you most fired up? Does Finn Jones look like an Iron Fist? How are they going to remove Bobbi and Hunter from Agents of Shield? Let me know in the comments.

Agents of Shield Casts Natalia Cordova-Buckley

If you’ve been following Agents of Shield then you know all about the new Inhuman plotline. It’s now been revealed that Natalia Cordova-Buckley will be joining the cast when it returns next month. She’ll be playing a “streetwise” Colombian with Inhuman abilities – as she’s based on Slingshot (from the comics) I’m thinking that she’s going to have super-speed.

Julianne Moore In Talks For Kingsman 2 Villain

2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service is getting a sequel and its villain could be none other than Julianne Moore. I don’t know how I feel about this: I think she was great as President Coin in The hunger Games: Mockingjay but comic-book films require a different calibre of villain. Is she up for it? I’m not convinced.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Cast Announced

The sequel to Marvel’s unexpected hit, Guardians of the Galaxy has begun filming and there is finally an official cast list. The main team is returning: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper & Dave Bautista. Also returning are Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Glenn Close & Sean Gunn. Now, the new people that you can expect to see: Kurt Russell, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki & Chris Sullivan.